theGrio

Back to the Top

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Home
  • Entertainment
    • Music
    • The Dish
  • Health
    • Ask Dr. Ty
    • Black Men’s Health
    • Black Women and Breast Cancer
    • Back to School Health
  • Living
    • Travel and Leisure
    • Living Forward
    • Books
  • Politics
    • Perry on Politics
  • Sports
  • News
    • Good News
  • Opinion

Inspiration

Muhammad Ali becomes new face for Louis Vuitton

by Kunbi Tinuoye | June 7, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Comments
Print
muhammad-ali-louis-vuitton

Related Posts

  • Muhammad Ali 71th birthday: The champ's 10 greatest fights
  • Muhammad Ali hands off first pitch at Marlins' season opener
  • Obama to Muhammad Ali: 'You shocked the world'
  • Muhammad Ali rushed to hospital in November after 'falling unconscious'
  • Muhammad Ali's Louisville friends remember early days

Sports legend Muhammad Ali turns fashion icon in a slick new Louis Vuitton advertising campaign.

The 70-year-old legendary boxer appears in the latest installment of an ad campaign that’s featured iconic individuals such as soccer star Pelé, Mikhail Gorbachev and most recently, actress Angelina Jolie.

theGrio slideshow: Muhammad Ali’s top 10 greatest fights

The print ads, featuring the former world heavyweight champion, will hit the shelves in magazines and newspapers across 60 countries on 14 June.

Photographed last month by Annie Leibovitz in his Phoenix backyard, Ali looks relaxed and remarkably fit as he keeps a watchful eye over a young boy with fists gloved. A pricy $1,525 Louis Vuitton “Keepall 50″ bag lies by Ali’s foot.

The three-year-old in the photo, Curtis Muhammad Conway Jr., is the son of Ali’s daughter Laila, a retired boxer, and her husband, former National Football League player Curtis Conway.

The luxury fashion brand has since 2007 focused its ads on iconic characters whose lives can be seen as extraordinary journeys.

Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, was the campaign’s first subject in 2007. He was seated in the back seat of a limo passing a remnant of the Berlin Wall, a Vuitton Keepall 50 bag on the seat beside him.

The campaign, which the company refers to as “Core Values”, has won a host of awards, including Webbies, a Grand Prix du Luxe Strategies from Condé Nast, and a prize from the French Club des Directeur Artistiques.

Louis Vuitton won’t reveal how much Ali was paid, but officials said payments were made to two organizations, one a personal business enterprise and the other an educational foundation.

Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti

  • 6-year-old Gianna Martin holds absence note from First Lady Michelle Obama.
    Next Story:

    First Lady Michelle Obama writes absence note for 1st grader

  • President Obama allowing 5-year-old Jacob Philadelphia to pat his head
    Previous Story:

    Revisiting Jacob Philadelphia, the boy who touched Obama’s hair

Filed in: Inspiration, Living, Sports | Related Topics: Advertising, Boxing, Fashion, Louis Vuitton, Muhammad Ali, Pele
  • Learn about our User Panel

    Read More
  • New Stories on theGrio

    • Chef describes Michael Jackson children’s lives to jury Chef describes Michael Jackson children’s lives to jury
    • Lil Wayne addresses US flag flap Lil Wayne addresses US flag flap
    • Tracee Ellis Ross launches ‘Hair Love’ campaign Tracee Ellis Ross launches ‘Hair Love’ campaign
    • Bumps in Booker’s path to US Senate Bumps in Booker’s path to US Senate
    • Bill would honor Buffalo Soldiers’ role in parks
    • Allen West: Women in combat are threat to ‘American warrior culture’
    • Miami Heat’s NBA Finals fashion
    • Drug testing for food stamps?
  • What Your Friends Are Reading

  • More from theGrio

More Stories on theGrio

Top News

Politics

  • President Barack Obama is greeted by Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L) at the official arrival of the G8 leaders at the G8 venue of Lough Erne on June 17, 2013 in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. The two day G8 summit, hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, is being held in Northern Ireland for the first time. Leaders from the G8 nations have gathered to discuss numerous topics with the situation in Syria expected to dominate the talks. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

    Polls: Obama ratings start to slip

  • Obama on Father's Day reflects on his absent dad

  • Obama honors first time WNBA champ Indiana Fever

  • President Obama: Dad 'is the best job'

» Read More in Politics

Business

  • Jay-Z (YouTube)

    Jay-Z announces new album

  • Dunkin' Donuts: Workers who endured racist rant will be 'honored'

  • Greene Scholars seeks to place black youth in STEM jobs

  • 29-year-old hedge fund boss preying on African-Americans arrested

» Read More in Business

Living

  • Serena Williams

    Serena Williams works teeny bikini on Miami Beach

  • Daughter inspires mom's natural hair care company

  • ‘From Fatherless to Fatherhood’

  • My father called: Gays, marriage and the evolving black perspective

» Read More in Living

Inspiration

  • Singer Adele arrives at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

    Adele honored by Queen Elizabeth II

  • Man finds father through Facebook

  • South Africa's interracial couples

  • Mandela grandson feels 'pressure' of legacy

» Read More in Inspiration

Entertainment

  • Bill Cosby and his late son, Ennis Cosby (Facebook)

    Cosby pays tribute to his late son

  • Beyoncé, video game company settle lawsuit

  • New film explores 'How to Make Money Selling Drugs’

  • 'Sesame Street' on parents in prison

» Read More in Entertainment

News

  • A photo of Emmett Till is included on the plaque that marks his gravesite at Burr Oak Cemetery May 4, 2005 in Aslip, Illinois.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    Trayvon Martin case haunted by Emmett Till

  • Woman sentenced to death at 16 is freed

  • Chad Johnson released from jail after butt-slap

  • Supreme Court to hear NJ housing discrimination case

» Read More in News

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Politics
  • Living
  • Video
  • Inspire
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • News
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with TheGrio
  • About
©2013 NBCUniversal
Powered by WordPress.com VIP